Gear power take-off drive for hammer mills



Aug. 30, 1955 A. H. BOTTORFF 2,716,347

GEAR POWER TAKE-OFF DRIVE FOR HAMMER MILLS Filed April 21 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. fluewr M fiarram-w M em/W Aug. 30, 1955 A. H BOTTORFF GEAR POWER TAKE-OFF DRIVE FOR HAMMER MILLS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 21 1950 INVEN TOR.

4 rra ens)? fiat/er b. (Barrow-F BY I Aug. 30, 1955 GEAR POWER TAKE-OFF DRIVE FOR HAMMER MILLS A. H. BOTTORFF Filed April 21 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet I5 46. 0 5 52 8a a O O a y///// United States PaterrtO 1 2,716,347 GEAR POWER TAKE-OFF DRIVE FOR HAMMERYMILLS' AlbertHrBottortf' st. Joseph-Mo.

. Application April 21,1950, Serial'No.'157,275

3':Cla'ims.' (Cl'-7415-.6)'

- My invention relatesito'improvements in agear power take-off driveforhammer 'imillsior similar'devices.

My-invention relatesmore pagicularly to algearrp'ower take-off driveforh'ammer mills of the'ttype capable of 'beingya'sil'y and quickly attached? as a unit to' certain standardtypes of hammer millsl to permit a drive ithrough a: flexible shaft or universal 'joint from a tractorror similar power unit;

Hammer 'mills, as':isigenerallyi'knowniinithe art, are

used extensively in the agricultural sections of the country 'fr 'grin'ding'and" cutting feed "for 'cattle'orother farm anima1 s;- and perform grinding-iiand cuttin'gz operations uponvarious animal foodsf suclfias stalk corn, roughage.

"or h'ay; and pulverizing granular-floods: suchslas ear lcorn,

' The usual hammefimillt of this typez includes. 3.110101 '-upon 1wliichknives; hammers and: otherfilaceratingz or encasedin a lrousing wi'tli a drive: shaft extendingctherfrom; the drive shaft havin'g ai ipulleyrkeyedz itherto so "chopping tools arepositioned,i tlietrrotorr normally :being.

ent on the market include V-belts orachaiir 'drivesgznone.

of which have proven entirely satisfactory for the following reasons: 7

Under alieavyz'straim thelordinaryrflat belt will freproved power tal offdffve for hammer mills employing face gears capabIe-oflattachmenfltlftliezside of the hammer 'mill thef'normal position ordinarily:occupied by the pulley usually furnished with hammer mills of the type described.

A further object of the invention is to provide a power take-01f drive unit which includes a pinion and gear, a housing for the same and a bracket member connected to the housing so that the entire assembly may be handled as a unit and attached as a unit to the side of the hammer mill housing.

A further object of the invention is to provide a gear power take-off drive unit capable of easy attachment to or detachment from the side of the hammer mill housing, the unit having a driving gear and pinion sealed therein and efficiently lubricated so that once it is installed as a unit it will operate efliciently for a long period of time without becoming broken or out of order.

Other objects and advantages will become more apparent from the following description wherein reference is had to the accompanying drawings, upon which Patented Aug. 30, 1955 Fig. 1 is a side elevational view illustratingwth'e used an ordinary-farm tractor for providingfpower to operate a hammer mill, andwincludes the power :take-oif-drive from the; tractonpthe'gear power take-off unitawhich I provide, and'the:usual='-type of ha.mmer mill .tolwhich the take-01f" unit is: attached;

Fig. 2risa a generally .front -perspective=view 10f a fragment of the side wall of: thew hammeri'mill showinguth'e gear housing frame attachedthereto "with thexgear. housing cover raisedrtliereabove to show the 1 opening provided for inserting and assembling-rthe gears and introducing lubrieant'thereto; ,1 i v Fig. 3 is a fragmentary plan view showingaa portionof the hamrner. mill housingand'the' gearitake-off. unit which I' provide, the. covervplatetthereof rbeingssremoved to more clearly show internalparts;

Fig- 4 is. a 1side'elevation'al lview of l thef'parts. shown Fig ,3; 1 1 I Fig. 5 is aiside ielevatibnal' view='of:jmimodifiedzformof power take=ofl5 drive and spl-itih'ousi-ng'therefor; and

Fig.2 6. is a 'vertieali sectionalr view of: the: same: taken generally on theline ofFig; 5; I

In. the preferred e'mbodiment of/thei invention illus- 1 trated and described in. the: drawings," lsshow-'.a typicaliinstallation of the gear power take-01f drivew'l'tl' mounted as shown in Fig. :1 upon the side of thefihousing; 1 2'? of a hammermill, the hammer: mill: I including zgener ally the feed table 14 upon which the": :graini is fedtto 'the =hou'si'ng 12 in which a rotorhaving-knives;h'ammers;o t th fla r. ating or chopping means is located. A dischargezxpipe lfi'wmayQeXiCI-ld upwardly th'erefrom1: 'throughc theti dust collar18 anddischarge:chutezzop Il prefer to provide a sour' of power foriidrivingathe hammer: mill shown in 'th'e nature of mi tracton r-22rwhich has a power take-oif shaft 24thatis connectedibyzmeans ofa universal joiiit 26 to the stubt shaft 281whicl'ne rtends -wliichi is positioned in the housing lz 'is'imount'eduupon a drive=shaft 30?:whieh extends through the side! wall; 32

of the housing 12 and is normally received 'in- -aiibearing 34 ositioned upon 'an 'angle membenfis' secnredfio the and ' shaftin' any suitablebr desirable :rnan'ne'r:

As hereinbefore pointed out: it is"-desirable te provide a drive otlr'ert than by me'an's of?a "pullysiandulielctfor the-hammer mill; Accordingly, "and 1 in: orderzltonconnect up-i a drivefor the hammenmi-ll with': a ztraetoraon other provided and mount a pinion gear 36 in drivingerelaition I on theshatt--30h tite -gear hawingmancollarwon spacer 38 to positiom the1 satire :withinrfthe. ge'anrhbusing 40 iwhich is a p'art of the unitary'diiivermeansi thatii'provide; is'llhe shaft 30 may be journalled in bearings 42 and 44 upon opposite walls 46 and 48 of the housing 40. As also seen in Fig. 2, a closure cap 49 may be employed if desired to completely enclose the end of the shaft 30.

The gear 36 is adapted to be meshed with a face gear 50, also positioned in the housing 40 and mounted upon the shaft 28 which is journalled in suitable bearings 52 and 54 connected to the side walls 46 and 48 of the housing 40. A suitable cap member 56 may be connected over the opening 58 in the top of the housing 40,

being held in position by means of bolt members 60.

In order to firmly connect the gear housing 40 to the side of the hammer mill housing 12, I weld or otherwise rigidly connect an angle member 62 by means of one of its legs 64 to the side Wall 46 of the housing 40, the

base of the angle member being adapted to rest upon the brace 35 of the housing 12 and connected thereto by of the housing 12.

The housing 40 is adapted to contain a sufiicient quantity of lubricant so that the gears 36 and 50 will be continuously running in an oil bath when in operation.

From the above and foregoing description it can be seen that I have provided a unitary assembly which can be connected to the shaft 30 and by means of a key 29 the shaft 28 is connected to a universal drive member 26 of a tractor power take-off shaft. The unit, including the housing 40, is easily and quickly bolted to the side of the hammer mill housing 12 and rigidly secured thereto by means of the angle member 62 and the brace 68.

' In Fig. and Fig. 6 I have shown a modified form of construction wherein the gear housing, may consist of the similarly shaped housing members 41 and 43, the same having bolt flanges 70 extending therefrom to receive the bolt members 72 which securely connect the housing halves together. In this construction a gasket 74 is provided between the peripheral flanges of the two housing sections, the housing sections being adapted to be held as a unit against the side wall of the hammer mill housing 12 by means of the angle member 76 which is bolted upon the angle member 35 on the side of the housing 12.

The gear housing unit herein shown may have internally disposed roller bearings 78 and 80 to receive the shaft 30, oil seals 82 being provided at the openings 84 in the housings to prevent the escape of oil at these openings.

In a similar manner the stub shaft 28 which carries the gear 50 is mounted in suitable roller bearings 86 and 88, an oil seal 82 being provided at the opening 90 of the housing section 41 through which the stub shaft 28 extends.

With the construction shown in the modified form of the invention I provide a filling plug 81 in one of the housing sections to permit the introduction of lubricating oil to the gear members 36 and 50, and a drain plug 83 adjacent the lower end for removing the same when fresh oil is desired.

From the above description it can be seen that I have provided a comparatively simple unit which may be attached to the rotor shaft 30 of the hammer mill in a .manner' of minutes by farmers or other persons not unusually skilled as mechanics. The installation and attachment of the unit is a simple matter due to the construction which I have provided, the angle member 62 and the angle member 76 in the modified form of the invention being easily attached to the member 36 to position the unit against the side of the rotor housing of the hammer mill.

While I have illustrated one complete example of the physical embodiment of my invention according to the best mode which I have thus far devised, and a modifica- 4 tion thereof wherein split gear housings are employed, it will be understood that various changes and alterations may be made in the exemplified structure within the scope of the appended claims. What I desire to secure and protect by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. A power take-ofl drive for a hammer mill rotor shaft adapted to be attached as a unit to the side of the hammer I mill rotor housing through which said shaft extends, said unit comprising a housing having 'a pinion and a face gear therein, said pinion attached to said rotor shaft, a stub shaft extending through one side of said housing, said face gear attached thereto, an angle iron member connected to the side of said housing for fastening the same to the side of said hammer mill housing and a bearing for said rotor shaft carried by said angle iron.

2. A power take-off drive for a hammer mill rotor shaft adapted to be attached as a unit to the side of the hammer mill rotor housing through which said shaft extends, said unit comprising a housing having a pinion and a face gear therein, said pinion attached to said rotorshaft, a stub shaft extending through oneside of said housing, said face gear attached thereto, an angle iron member connected to the side of said housing for fastening the same to the side of said hammer mill housing, said housing having an open upper end and a cover member for closing the same, and a bearing for said rotor shaft carried by said angle iron.

3. A power take-0E drive for a hammer mill rotor shaft adapted to be attached as a unit to the side of the hammer mill rotor housing through which said shaft extends, said unit comprising a housing having a pinion and a face gear therein, said pinion attached to said rotor shaft, a stub shaft extendingthrough one side of said housing, said face gear attached thereto, an angle iron member connected to the side of said housing for fastening the same to the side of said hammer mill housing, said housing having an open upper end and a cover member for closing the same, said stub shaft having a universal drive connection therein, and a bearing for said rotor shaft carried by said angle iron.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

